Hannah Montana Doesn't Have to Pay $4 Billion
Lawyer sued Miley Cyrus claiming the pop star caused $4 billion in damages
Sorry Lucie Kim, but Hannah Montana didn't cause $4 billion in harm to you or the Asian community, at least that's what a judge said.
Kim sued the pop singer Feb. 11 in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of all the Asians in L.A. Kim was seeking $4,000 in civil rights damages per potential claimant-- nearly $4 billion total-- over a photo of Cyrus and some friends slanting their eyes, supposedly trying to make themselves look Asian.
Cyrus twice apologized for the photo in US magazine, according to her attorneys. But apparently that wasn't good enough for Kim.
Kim's lawyer sued under a statute that prohibits businesses from discriminating against minorities. Kim claimed the Disney star "should have known that her image would be publicly disseminated via the media, which focuses on her private life."
But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Sohigian said Kim's attorney, Henry M. Lee, did not convince him that Cyrus violated a state law that protects citizens from discrimination by business establishments on grounds the photo denied Kim and other Asian-Americans "courtesy and respect." Sohigian threw out the case.
Cyrus' attorney, Bryan M. Sullivan, praised the ruling and called it correct. Lee said he is considering an appeal, but also said he respects the legal knowledge and judgment of Sohigian.
Lee argued the "Hannah Montana" star, who turns 17 Monday, markets herself with her image.
"Every time she sells herself she engages in a business transaction ... this image that she is this positive role model for children," Lee said.
But the lawyer said that when it came to Asians, Cyrus chose to engage in a racial insult of the type that Lee said he had not seen since he was 12 years old.
In their court documents, lawyers for the pop sensation said the state's Unruh Civil Rights Act, relied upon by Lee, has to do with access to public accommodations and is not intended to provide redress for racial insults.
Cyrus' lawyers also noted that Kim conceded in previous court papers she did not think the singer and her friends intended to discriminate against people of Asian-Pacific Islander descent.
